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Sushi/Story
Fondness Story I. Kotoba Tree The weather turned cold, and in the blink of an eye Autumn was upon us. It's been three years since I came here to the Red Leaf Pavilion. If not for the sight of those red leaves drifting to the ground, I don't think I would even be aware of the passage of time. Before I even knew what was going on, my Master Attendant and my brother, both so important to me, were no longer by my side. It's probably because of the chill of Autumn, but the loneliness in my heart is feeling sharper. Walking alone along the Red Leaf Pavilion's paved path, the red leaves made a rustling sound under my clogs. I loved that sound. I don't know why it brought me such peace. Walking along the path, I raise my head and in the distance I can see the Torii School. You can reach the school through a few stone steps, and there are several medium-size tatami rooms for the purpose of studying. That's where my brother Sashimi is now. Actually, that's a sad story not worth telling. For Sashimi, the Torii School was a wonderful place to study. When Sashimi and I talked about this matter I agreed. Of course I did. As his older sister, how could I stand in his way? Just like that, I was standing beneath the maple tree that stood outside the Torii School. Perhaps due to the ancient nature of the maple tree, it still preserved a slight hue of green in this crimson-stained world. I quietly sat down under the tree, listening to the sound of someone reciting something in a clear voice inside the school. It was only at that moment that I wished time would stop right now, at this moment. A gentle breeze tickled my face; I found this place one day when I sent Sashimi to school. It was my favorite place when I wasn't in the mood of being social. "I wonder how he's doing in school?" I couldn't help but think about it. "If you want to know I can help you find out!~" A youthful voice that was strangely low came out of the maple tree. This was the second reason why I wanted everything to stop here. I don't know whether it was because the tree was lonely in such an isolated spot or because it had listened to students reading aloud for so many years, but it had learned to speak and that made it an excellent confidant for me. "Please, if you could." "Oh! You should know that my branches are facing the school!" The strange voice became clearer. "Yes, thank you." I could always learn a lot about the school from this tree. Just listening to those "children" laughing and playing, it was like they became my own memories. II. Maple Memories "You're back?" The voice passed through layers and layers of red leaves to reach my ears. However, it was clearly no longer the same voice as before. "Uh-huh. What are you doing here, Superintendent?" "Admiring the foliage, naturally." Sukiyaki suddenly turned away from the maple he had been admiring, looked to me and said: "You still have that cold look on your face. Surely you can't still be angry with me about that, right?" "It has nothing to do with you. Of course I know that it was Sashimi's own choice." I didn't so much as glance at Sukiyaki. I just walked straight into the Pavilion. I had always been aware of what a gentle child Sashimi was. I had never seen him cry, probably because he didn't want to make me worry. I didn't know what might injure him, so I decided I would have to keep him well protected. Only, I never thought I would be separated from him so soon... The Pavilion was very quiet at this time, probably because Sukiyaki didn't like noise while he was resting. It was encircled by maple trees, so red Fallen Angel leaves were piling up in each corner; that's where the Red Leaf Pavilion got its name. On one side of the Pavilion was a small stream, and next to the stream was a little gazebo. I used to go there all the time with Sashimi. It was also there, on that day, that the bright maple leaves stained the twilight red. I was sitting in the gazebo next to the trees, wiping down the blade of my naginata. It was something I did every few days. "Sister?" I turned my head to see the child smiling at me. "You're back?" "Yes! The Superintendent took me to a place today." "A place?" I didn't know why but suddenly my heart felt heavy. "Sukiyaki? He brought you out?" Suddenly I had an awful premonition. Even though he was nice to everyone at the Pavilion, nothing unsettled me more than his fake, hypocritical smile. III. Destined Choice In fact, this was indeed the case, because I saw a hesitation on Sashimi's face that I had never seen before. "It's a...school. There are a lot of Food Souls there, and there are teachers who instruct us. Sister, do you know there's a teacher there who's always holding a cat..." "I've heard that the teachers are all really nice." Looking at his face I knew he really liked the place. "It's not very far from here. Just go through the maple trees and you'll be there." Sashimi suddenly smiled at me, his same old smile. He smiled like that every time he tried to make me feel better. "Yeah, it's really close," I said without enthusiasm. I didn't know what to say, but I knew what his next words were going to be. "I...want to leave and go to the school." Sashimi said in a rush, but I could still hear the trembling in his voice. "Alright, you should go wherever you want." "Sister, you..." "That's right, I just remembered that Udon was looking for you." I lowered my head as I spoke, pretending that everything was fine as I wiped down my naginata. "Udon? Oh! I told her I'd give her a hand today." Sashimi said as though he had just remembered. "I'll be right back." "Sure." A drop of red blood dripped down, and suddenly my finger stung. Unwilling to admit my frustration, the pain spread through my entire body. Of course I knew this didn't mean we'd never see each other again. It was just, I'd never thought it would be this difficult to let him leave. I stared at my blood on the ground and used my other hand to staunch the cut. At that moment a maple leaf drifted to the ground and happened to cover the blood on the ground. Luckily, he didn't see. IV. Melting Snow Red maple leaves kept falling in front of my eyes, drawing me back to reality. Why? It was clear that nothing about the scenery had changed, but my mind was much more serene than before. The season passed, and the colors around me gradually disappeared. When the whole world returned to pure white, new colors would appear. New beginnings meant that there would be also be an end. When Spring arrived, lessons would begin and Sashimi would leave. I couldn't stop thinking about that all Winter. The days that I used to think would never change suddenly seemed more precious. I wanted to spend as much time around him as I could before he left. It was unbelievable; before now, I was always thinking about how I could keep him safe. Now all I could think about was spending as much time with him as possible. The smiling face that had offered me endless encouragement would always support me. The last day that Sashimi stayed in my memories was an unexpectedly nice day. I could feel the warmth of the sunlight shining on my body. We walked together along the forest path that led to the school. I didn't know what to tell him, but he kept giving me instructions. "Sister, you can't keep fighting with the Superintendent." "Uh-huh." "You need to take care of yourself too, and don't sleep outside when it's cold." "Uh-huh." "Oh! Right, when you wake Udon up in the morning, you don't need to wave your naginata around." "Uh-huh." ...... I wish this path went on forever... Sashimi kept it up the entire way, but I would only respond with murmured assent. Thinking about it now, it was more like I was the one leaving. When some unfamiliar pale pink-white petals appeared in front of my eyes, we had arrived at the Torii. I was surprised by how simple the building was; compared to Red Leaf Pavilion, it had a simple elegance. We walked up to the school's door and saw the Food Souls studying in a tatami room. The silver-haired Food Soul holding a cat at the front of the room walked over to us. "Hello, my name is Sanma." "This is the teacher." Sashimi said to me with a smile. "Hello." I replied politely. "Please look out for my brother." When the cherry blossoms began to fall, there was a chill in the air. There was a rare tremor in my voice. However, soon it was one without a trace. Parting took less time than I'd imagined. Sashimi walked into the room, and I left. I didn't look back because I was afraid. This was the first time I had felt like this. I'd never felt the slightest hint of fear before now. Did Sashimi watch me leave? What was the expression on his face? I wanted to know but I was too scared to look back. It had always been like this; the stronger the feelings and words inside me, the harder it was to express them. Suddenly I heard the sound of reading aloud coming from the school. For some reason, it calmed me. "You can hear them studying from here." I raised my head and saw an enormous tree. Its branches were green and lush, filled with the breath of spring. The accumulated snow had mostly melted, and there probably wouldn't be any more... V. Sushi This happened a few days after Sashimi left the Red Leaf Pavilion. After Sashimi left, Sushi would often go out by herself. Sometimes she would stay outside all day, only returning at dusk. Nobody in the Pavilion knew what she spent so much time doing everyday. The always unpredictable Sukiyaki would just look at Udon with a smile and continue talking about something with Umezuke. When the sun went down in the west, the Red Leave Pavilion was stained crimson by the light. As usual, Sushi returned with the sunset. "Your feelings are really weighing you down." A voice came from behind Sushi. "It's lucky that Sashimi is such a good child..." Sushi looked at Sukiyaki without saying a word. "By the way, I was at the school a few days ago and discovered something interesting." Sushi continued her silence. She remembered what Sashimi had told her and didn't want to start a confrontation with Sukiyaki. "The Food Souls at the school are preparing a welcome party for Sashimi. That's nice, isn't it?" But he wasn't going to stop there. Sushi realized that it was very unusual for the normally independent Sukiyaki to be this persistent. Could someone be bullying Sashimi? Sushi had always imagined the worst. Looking at Sushi's furrowed brow, Sukiyaki shook his head helplessly. "The welcome party is tomorrow night, that's all I'm saying." With that, Sukiyaki walked away, leaving Sushi on her own. Very soon it was the tomorrow night that Sukiyaki had mentioned. Although of course at the time they called it "tonight", and Sukiyaki told everyone from the Pavilion that he was going out for a party. Udon surrounded Sukiyaki and kept asking where the party was, but he told her it was a secret. Umezuke stepped and pulled Udon out of the way so she didn't get in Sukiyaki's way. "Enjoy yourself, and don't get bored." "Thank you, I'll do my best." With that Sukiyaki walked out of the Pavilion. Sushi watched all of this, her expression as indifferent as usual. Spring moonlight lightly covered the ground like frost. Even Sushi didn't understand why she had followed along. I just want to see how Sashimi is doing, Sushi thought to herself. Once again her eyes were filled by cherry blossom trees weighed down with blossoms. Off in the distance she heard the sound of Food Souls speaking. Sushi unconsciously quickened her pace, stopping short just before she reached her destination. "Sashimi, which flavor do you want - red bean filling or matcha filling?" "Red bean!" Finally hearing the voice she had wanted to hear for so long, Sushi hid behind a nearby cherry blossom tree. "Why do you keep staring at them? Eat one already, they're delicious! I just made them." "Alright...It's nothing, I just remembered that my sister loved eating them when we were out..." As he spoke, Sashimi's eyes seemed even warmer than before. "In that case I'll make more, and the next time your sister visits you can give her some!" Taiyaki said to Sashimi with a smile and walked away happily. "But I don't know whether she'll come here." Sashimi's expression turned lonely as he whispered to himself. Sushi saw everything from behind the tree, her hands clutching at the bark. But she didn't step out. "Sashimi, the moment I take my eyes off you, you start mooching off my sister!" All of a sudden someone was speaking in a high-spirited voice. The voice seemed familiar to Sushi, but she just couldn't place it. "Dorayaki?" "What the hell! You're already annoying enough without putting on a gloomy face! Glued to my sister all day long!" Dorayaki prattled on. Listening to this, it was all Sushi could do to control her impulse to rush over and give the dirty-mouthed blond boy a sound beating. However, Sashimi's laughter held her back. "What are you laughing at?" "Oh, it's nothing, you just remind me of my sister." Dorayaki seemed taken back by his reaction. "When someone was bullying me, she'd get that same look on her face. She was always really hard on herself...She pushed herself so hard for me..." Sashimi spoke about his sister with a smile. Everything had gotten quiet; even Dorayaki, who had been making so much noise a moment ago, had grown quiet. "That's actually the reason why I wanted to learn more, so I could help my sister. That's why I came here to study, so she could have more freedom to live her life." "Are you both idiots?" "Huh?" "I really don't understand you and your sister, if you want to see each other, then just go! It's not that far away." For some reason, Dorayaki sounded angry. Sashimi looked at Dorayaki with widened eyes for a moment, then laughed again. "Yeah...You're right!" To Sushi's eyes, Sashimi's smile at that moment looked extra happy. "Hey! Don't laugh at me!" Dorayaki;s expression was even more angry. "Anyways, you hear me? Keep away from my sister! You hear me?" "Huh? Why?" Sashimi asked innocently. "You annoy me more than anything!" ...... It seemed noisy, but definitely a good place. Sushi decided she could leave with peace of mind. "You're leaving just like that?" A voice came from behind another tree. "Have you been watching me all along?" "Eavesdropping isn't a hobby of mine." Sukiyaki said with a smile, covering his lower jaw with a paper fan. "So now you understand what it is he wants." "You're still truly despicable." Sushi turned away, not intending to continue the conversation. "I'm honored to hear you say that." Sukiyaki chuckled. His faint laughter faded into the moonlight as the night deepened. Category:Food Soul Story